Safety 1st Complete Air with Air Protect: First Look Review

It’s been The Buzz for some time now and we finally have one for review! It’s the Safety 1st Complete Air Convertible with the Air Protect side impact technology cushions. This model can be used rear facing from 5 to 40 pounds and 19-40 inches. Front-facing, the limits are 22-50 pounds and 34-45 inches. It is now available in the Complete Air LX version with improved recline and the original Complete Air as described in this revew. I can’t tell you how it will perform in a crash, but I can tell you that it is feature packed and makes for a very nice covertible child safety seat.

First, the unboxing:

Next, the “Revolutionary Side Impact Technology.” This comes in the form of air filled cushions on the inside of each head restraint wing. It essentially replaces the EPS foam found on most child restraints with an air-filled cushion. It’s not an airbag, so there’s no inflation involved. It’s basically a disc of open cell foam, surrounded by a perforated plastic bag. When compressed, the air released is restricted by the size of the holes, allowing it to increase the ride down time of the child’s head before it reaches the plastic shell or an intruding part of the vehicle. Whether or not this is a significant improvement over EPS foam (similar to what you find in a bicycle helmet) I cannot say, but it looks impressive:

The other big feature of the Complete Air is the 40 pound rear-facing weight limit. A wise man once said-

Rear-facing provides the most crash protection in the most common and severe frontal and side impacts. There is a stigma for a lot of parents regarding rear-facing. Many have the impression that kids should be front-facing once they are 1 year and 20 pounds. Even some physicians still give this obsolete advice, contrary to the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Other parents just think their kids need to be front-facing for comfort or some other issue, or that turning front-facing is some sort of rite of passage or graduation award for being a year old. Well, now there’s a reason why front-facing shouldn’t be a reward for many kids until they turn 4-years old!

The Complete Air is the second new model in the USA with a 40 pound limit. Combined with that, Safety 1st gives a rear-facing height limit when top of the child’s head reaches the top of the adjustable head restraint section. That is extremely generous, as you can see in the photos below. On the left, my son is properly fitted with the adjustment in the 3rd from highest position and the harness slots are just below his shoulders. On the right, you can see how much room he has with the headrest in the highest position! He is 4 years and 2 months old, 43″ tall and weighs 40.0 pounds on our scale (clothed but without shoes!).

The only drawback is the stated 40″ rear-facing height limit. There’s a nice “Safety Tip” section in the front-facing section that advises parents to use the seat rear-facing as long as possible, up to the 40 pound and 40 inch limits. As is often the case, the standing height limit may be somewhat arbitrary, as it is mandated by the relevant standards. I am not advocating that you exceed the limits in the owner’s manual, but include these photos for comparison purposes. Leg room is limited by the vehicle seat, as it is with any rear-facing model in the USA or Canada. As for front facing height limits, many readers will want to know about the maximum torso height. This photo should be self explanatory:

The rear-facing install angle was relatively upright in my minivan; fine for larger kids and older babies, once they can support their head well. It may need a pool noodle or rolled towel in many vehicles to get the 45 degree recline angle necessary for newborns and small infants. There is a level line on the side of the shell, but not an actual indicator like you find on infant seats and some other convertibles.

Pros? Well, rear-facing to 40 pounds is a real safety advantage. One study indicates that rear-facing is especially advantageous in side impacts. So, if the Air Protect cushions work as advertised, the combination is a legitimate safety benefit. The generous harness and torso height settings are also a big plus, though they are mitigated by the published standing height limits that seem artificially low. Deluxe push-button LATCH attachments make it easy to connect and disconnect from the anchors found in newer vehicles. Front-facing LATCH installations are relatively straight forward with no unusual issues in my minivan.

The harness height mechanism is fairly easy to use from the front, even while installed. You do need to make sure the harness is loose enough to adjust it higher and also make sure it clicks into place, especially at the top position. The crotch strap has 3 positions, another nice addition. The Complete Air is well padded and the cover fits well at the edges. It’s made in North America (USA), another key selling point, in my humble opinion.

Cons? It’s pricey at $249. The LATCH attachments require rerouting to switch between rear and front facing use. Though not difficult, it does take a few minutes to do. There’s only a single tilt adjuster on one side. Combined with the shape of the shell and position of the rear-facing belt path, you can’t quite get an ideal angle to tighten the LATCH straps rear-facing. Even so, it installed well in my 2006 Odyssey, but it took a little more time than some other models. Similarly, when installed rear-facing, the harness adjustment strap can be a little hard to pull to tighten it the last inch or so. That’s mostly due to the angle you have to use to pull the strap, but could also be due in part to a new mechanism that needs some use to loosen up a bit. It also appears that the harness straps can twist at the buckle. Though it has EPS foam and the Air Protect around the head, it does lack EPS foam elsewhere. Finally, the detachable cupholder is already being used as a hand hold to get into the van, I hope it doesn’t pop off in the process!

I have only had the Complete Air for part of one day. I’ll post a full review by the end of July as I get some experience with it. I’ll look over the manual thoroughly, try seatbelt installations, install in other vehicles and have some more photos, too. At first glance, it seems quite nice overall. It’s among the higher priced convertibles, but you do get some innovative features for the money. You can find the Complete Air, Complete Air Special Edition and Complete Air LX (new base with imprved recline) at many stores! Anyway, if it’s within your budget, the Complete Air is definitely worth consideration along with other competitive premium convertible models.

I just bought this for my 7 month old son. I drive a 02 Jetta (not much room in the back). I got the seat in there fine but it won’t recline to 45 degrees. I can get it close though (I’m 5’10” so my seat is slid back pretty far causing the recline issue). My son is in the 92 percentile so he’s a little big for his age. He has been able to support his head for a couple months now and can sit up by himself; in fact, he get’s very fussy when he’s not sitting up. I believe he is fine being reclined at the position it’s at now. I sat him in there and he looked very comfortable. This baby seat keeps him very secure and fits him much better than his old infant seat. It looks very sporty as well which is always a plus, especially for boys

These companies have knowingly been selling us defective seats for many years. They claim their test data is proprietary. No wonder … it would have indicated a deadly flaw. Why wouldn’t they want parents to know that? Why would anybody in their right mind trust them now. Show us the test data now. They did not have the ability to protect from side impact before. Do they now? Is the addition of some padding the fix? Why didn’t they do this years ago? They knew they had problems. These people are not to trusted. Make them prove that their seats work.

Do you think internal testing data would be a service? If you don’t trust them as you say, why would you trust their proprietary test data if they released it? Besides, any data they released would be done to specifications that showed glowing results. They certainly wouldn’t release anything making their products look mediocre or failing to pass some threshold. None of it would be comparable to any other manufacturer, because each would use its own standards and variables making it meaningless.

What is really needed is a government standard that not only defines what is required, but sets up a manufacturer-independent testing system like we have with vehicles such that we can compare crashworthiness on a 5-star or similar scale.

As it is now, there is simply no way to address whether or not a crash safety feature for child seats works well or how it compares to another brand or model. To a skeptic, I dount anything any particular manufacturer does on their own could prove anything in terms of safety. Internal or independent, such standards and tests just do not exist.

I received this car seat as a baby shower gift and am now getting it installed into my Suzuki Kizashi (About the size of a Toyota Camry). When installing this seat rear facing with the full recline (with towels and stuff underneath it…) I have to move the front passenger-side seat all the way up and move the backrest into a position that is not at all comfortable to sit in.

Has anyone else had this problem with this seat? I would like to think that my wife could with me and the baby when we go out and not have to drive her own car because she can’t sit in my car…

Darren I am speechless to learn what you have told John (above) about there NOT being a government standard to rate crashworthiness of child safety seats as they do with vehicles? Really? I have been a mother for nearly 9 years and I was assuming all this time that the ratings I was reading were relative to a standard. This may be the wrong place to vent, so I will keep that between me and my congressman, but surely I am not the only parent who assumed this??? Thanks for taking the time to rate and review these seats to keep us informed!

Hi Katie, there is indeed a pass/fail federal standard that all child restraint systems must pass in order to be sold. This does ensure a basic compliance for crashworthiness in frontal crashes and, to some extent, vehicle compatibility. What I meant is that there is not a “5-star” type of supplemental testing system that allows you to compare the crash safety of one product to another, as we have for vehicles. For example, a more rigorous frontal crash test and a side impact test would help differentiate products and also perhaps let us see if some of these newer safety features are effective.

I was hoping someone with this seat can lend some advice. We have two of these, one for each of our cars. We went to install one of these in our Honda Cr-v, rear-facing and in the center of the rear bench. The seats installs easily enough but the issue is that no matter how tight we get the Latch belts the seat rocks too much from side to side. Again, I’ve pulled the Latch harnesses as tightly as possible but the base of the seat is narrow given it’s relative height. I’m concerned about how safe this would be since the sideways movement is so great. We could try sliding it over towards one of the doors directly behind the passenger or drivers seat to see if the door would stabilize it but we’d prefer it stayed in the center for less potential injury in a side impact.

Any legitimate ways to stabilize this seat in the center position when rear-facing? We’re thinking of returning the seats and trying something else.

hey i have one of thoses seats and my son is about 20mths old. and i have notest the carseat leave a burise or a redmark. on it from the hardness in the back of the seat and i went to a babystore not to long ago . and they had the same seat and the back was softer. and the exact same one he has . and the women said its cause they get the best in the babystores then what i got at target.

I babysit my daughter’s 9 month old twins, and one of them is ready to move into a convertible rear facing seat. I already have 2 Safety 1st Air 65’s for them, but when I went to install one of them it did not fit in my 2011 Rav4 in the inclined position. The back is too tall. Looks like I have to purchase new convertibles. Any suggestions as to what will brand/model fit when installed correctly?

@Marsha – the newest Complete Air 65 convertible seats have a dual level line (recline angle indicator) which allow for more upright RF installations for older babies and toddlers who weight more than 22 lbs. It is only necessary to get the full 45 degree recline for young babies who don’t have good head/neck control. Most 9 month olds who don’t have special needs can be seated in a more upright position – which also buys more space for legroom up front. Do your seats have the dual level lines? Check out this previous blog for more info: http://carseatblog.com/16125/new-dual-line-indicator-from-dorel-recline-angle-success/

My seats do not have the dual level lines, but I did install a seat securely in the back seat and the angle is not all that much different than the Chicco 30 infant seat he is outgrowing. With this baby’s size and head control, I feel confident that this install is safe.

I just want to add I have one of these seats for my Now 3.5 year old.
he rearfaces well and rearfaced well on a good recline in our toyota Camry.
We now have a bigger car. I have the airprotect infant capsule and my 1 yer old still fits in it with room to grow I am extremly impressed by these seats. I live in New Zleanand so extended rearfacing is not popular and you get a few funny looks and comments about having a 3 year old rearfacing.
Great seat love it!! and the high weight rage is just great! not many seats are readily available to keep a child in with a 5 point harness AND a chest clip up to a good weight! again I say Brilliant and affordable

Is it possible to install this seat rear facing with just the seatbelt? My husband has a 2000 ford explorer and it does not have a latch system love this seat and have it for my car but I am nervous about a convertible seat for his

The overall low height might be from the length of the seat bottom. your boy’s legs look like they are right at the edge already. Numbness in the legs can be caused if the seats too short for a kid. It took me forever to figure why there was an over height when it’s all about the torso, and thats why.